Crystal Crusaders

I’m glad to say that it’s been another year and our FC is still here, going strong! We’ve sadly lost a few people who no longer play the game, but we’ve also gained some fantastic new members and of course the core of our members have been with us for quite some time now!

As with our previous anniversary parties, last Saturday (20th June), we all gathered together to play some games, including some new games! As usual there was also a new outfit for everyone and with the Evercold expansion on the way, the logic was behind the design was that we all might need to dress up warmly! The outfit consisted of: Flanel Knit Cap (Bright Orange/Shale Brown), Wintertide Blouson (Bright Orange/Wine Red), Hempen Halfgloves (Rust Red), Wind Silk Bottoms (Rust Red/Undyed) and Whisperfine Woolen Boots (Bright Orange/Orchard Brown).

As usual we started with some jumping puzzle and once again we took advantage of Nae’s FFXIV Jumping Puzzles, this year we used the ones on the Sagittarius server, specifically “Room 8: Factory Jump”, “Room 1: Desk?!”, “Room 5: Fort Boyard” and “Room 6: Colored Squares”.

Next it was time for another classic game, “Hide and Seek”.

After we had some winners we moved onto Limsa Lominsa for a game of hide and seek. As usual I’d placed a few of my other characters in locations around a zone and everyone had to find them. The first three people who find them get a prize. Generally they’re found quite fast (the name tags give them away!), but it’s a challenge to see who will find them first.

After this we headed back to the FC house for our quiz. Although I make sure the quiz contains information about the FC, like reminders about what items you members can get from the FC there were also some lore related questions (although nothing newer than “A Realm Reborn” – we take spoilers seriously!)

This is also when we announced the promotion of our member “Niners Dawnheart” to our more senior rank of Sapphire. Niners has been with us for two years, but is constantly helping everyone out and we wanted to say thank you and you are appreciated. When I asked the rest of the senior members about promoting Niners, it was a unanimous yes, with no hesitations. Thanks for all that you’ve done for us!

After the quiz we tried something new, a scavenger hunt! I came up with 16 riddles for NPC characters in “A Realm Reborn” areas and the first person to post a screenshot of the person on Discord, won. Thankfully this seemed to work well and most people guessed who I meant, or a rough idea of where they needed to look and I think everyone generally enjoyed this mad dash around Eorzea! If anyone is curious, here’s the full list of riddles as well as the NPC and their location.

Riddle	NPC	Area	Coordinates
I am a retired mercenary who now stands behind a wooden bar, running a bustling tavern. The name of my establishment sounds like a tragic accident at sea. Find my counter and stand before me.	Baderon	Limsa Lominsa Upper Decks	11.6, 11.1
I am a small merchant tucked away inside a secret headquarters by the bay. My sole job is to keep the realm’s chosen protectors well-supplied for their dangerous work.	Haneko Burneko	Western Thanalan	6.2, 5.0
We are a trio dressed for the beach, spending our days performing on a wooden pier. You can hear the roar of a waterfall nearby, and a curious brother isn’t far away. Find our stage and join our rhythm.”	3 dancing girls	Eastern La Noscea	32.4, 23.5
I am a youthful sister of the forest’s highest lineage. Dressed in white and flanked by two floating, winged companions, I stand upon an overhanging ledge looking towards a tranquil sanctuary.	Raya-O-Senna	South Shroud	18.6 27.0
I am a masked guardian stationed on a wooden pier, watching over the gateway to a fragrant bed of purple blooms. While a boatman waits at the start of the docks to steer travelers across the water, I keep watch further down the planks.	Wood Wailer Sentry	Central Shroud	25.7, 27.9
I am a traveling poet visiting a bustling refuge within the fog-veiled wastes. Tucked inside the headquarters of the realm’s bravest protectors, I wait to sing of your deeds.	Wandering Minstrel	Mor Dhona	21.8, 8.7
Though my name sounds like that of an old woman, I stand inside a hollowed cavern reached by entering a giant tree, watching over the home of nature’s healers.	Biddy	Old Gridania	6.7, 11.3
I am a stranded wanderer found outside an isolated, rustic home hidden in the wilderness north of a Floating City. Find where the hermit lives in solitude.	Lost Lalafell	Outer La Noscea	15.6, 10.6
If you ask me for a drink just south of the station, my answer will always be “Roger.” Find the spirited tavern where coins and coffins mingle.	Roger	Central Thanalan	19.5, 20.6
I am a pious sentinel standing past the gates of judgment, granting you entry to the very foundation of the holy city.	Temple Knight Gateguard	Coerthas Central Highlands	18.2, 14.8
Though I was once a temporary visitor, I have made a permanent home on the pier where warriors gather to clash. Find the holy figure with a shady reputation.	Disreputable Priest	Wolves’ Den	5.0, 5.3
High above the neon playground, I hold the ledger for those who refuse to travel on their own two feet.	Race Chocobo Registrar	Manderville Gold Saucer	6.1, 4.8
I guide the footsteps of the uninitiated, offering lessons in combat and rewarding your fresh start with gear that is explicitly brand new.	The Smith	Western La Noscea	28.6, 24.2
Come find us out on the deck of the notorious pirate ship, where our trio is continuously pressing themselves against the wooden planks while the crew cheers us on.	3 NPCs doing push-ups	Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks	6.0, 15.2
I stand not far from a camp, so if you fancy a wander, you’ll find me right by the entrance to a very suitable building.	Abazi Charazi	Upper La Noscea	25.6, 23.0
I forever reside amidst the biting cold, where my shield remains close to remind you that a smile better suits a hero.	Haurchefant Greystone	Coerthas Central Highlands	22.5, 7.9

And of course some pictures of some of the hunting for the NPCs:

Then we headed back to the FC for a fashion / glamour competition. Earlier in the week we’d announced there would be two categories “Birthday party” and “Evercold”. Anyone who entered would automatically win 1 million Gil just for making an effort, but the winner of each category would see that increase to 5 million Gil. Everyone was free to interpret the categories however they wanted and also had a chance to explain their outfit, if they so desired.

And here are all our entrants for the two categories:

There was some amazing outfits, but unfortunately there could only be two winners and they were Mizuki Kawagachi, with a super cute birthday party outfit, and Lyallon Estaqur who dressed up as one of the new cat people from the upcoming “Evercold” expansion (and I’ve badly superimposed it into the image so you can see how similar they look!)

And with that it had been four hours and time to bring the party to a close! Here’s a final group shot of everyone who made it right to the end!

Because of the massive increase to our FC funds we also boosted the prize money this year. The total prize money we gave out was a rather crazy 71.75 million Gil and here is a list of who won how much:

Name	Gil won
Ashelia Nightfall	500,000
Blithesome Carl	2,000,000
Driess Raronek	5,000,000
Gwendolia Mangold	8,750,000
Kendra Covell	1,250,000
Kyad Ck	2,500,000
L'ireiya Tia	5,000,000
Lyallon Estaqur	7,750,000
Lycelle Lefebvre	3,750,000
Mizuki Kawaguchi	7,250,000
Narjya Darkwood	2,500,000
Nekomi Hounami	3,750,000
Niners Dawnheart	3,500,000
Paprika Rika	2,750,000
Pome Kneenibbler	500,000
Rydia Nishiyama	4,250,000
Sarah Sugarcube	4,000,000
Sylvia Flutterstar	1,250,000
Terazoic Willowstar	1,000,000
Yurha Raso	4,500,000

And here is a list of all the prizes that were won in the raffle:

Name	Prize won
Driess Raronek	Adventure Basket
Driess Raronek	Carrots Of Brilliance Orchestrion Roll
Lyallon Estaqur	Cosmic Barding
Lycelle Lefebvre	Ballroom Etiquette - Next, Godliness
Lycelle Lefebvre	Cosmic Barding
Mizuki Kawaguchi	Il Mheg Arbor
Mizuki Kawaguchi	Wind-Up Barbariccia
Narjya Darkwood	Ribboned Parasol
Nekomi Hounami	Ballroom Etiquette - Next, Godliness
Paprika Rika	Purple Cherry Blossom Corsage
Sylvia Flutterstar	Imitation Corvosi Shisha

Thank you everyone in our FC, we wouldn’t be this awesome without you all and I look forward to another amazing year with you all! And I leave you with this well timed monstrosity…

Another year has passed and we’re still here! So as with previous years we got together and played some games!

There was another new outfit for us all to wear and this year it was Southern Seas Shirt (Gunmetal Black and Snow White), Pagos Gaskins (Metallic Orange) and Guoc shoes (Soot Black x 2).

Following on from last year we used some of Nae’s FFXIV Jumping Puzzles, but this year we travelled to Ragnarok for their room 8, “Pillars, You Said Pillars?” and room 4, “Jump the vases”:

After we had some winners we moved onto Limsa Lominsa for a game of hide and seek. Before the event I had placed some of my other characters around the zone and everyone had to find them. The first three people who find them get a prize and a bigger prize for finding them faster. Because you can’t hide the name tag of your character it’s quite tricky to conceal them, but they generally weren’t found right away so I think it worked okay!

Next we headed back to our FC house for a quiz. Some of the questions are about the house and garden (how many of these things are there etc), but other questions are about the FC and double as a reminder to make sure people know about FC perks and what they could be doing etc.

Next we headed out to throw ourselves off high areas to try and land on a tiny marker! Each jump is scored for points and the total score over three jumps is used to allocate the prizes.

After this it was back to the FC house for the raffle. We had prizes for both items and Gil, see the tables below for the results!

Finally we headed off to the PVP area for a quick tournament!

The total prize money we gave out was a 18.66 million Gil and here is a list of who won how much:

Name	Gil won
L'ireiya Tia	3,550,000
Niners Dawnheart	2,650,000
Gwendolia Mangold	2,500,000
Driess Raronek	2,150,000
Nekomi Hounami	1,960,000
Lyallon Estaqur	1,750,000
Blithesome Carl	1,200,000
Ragner Defgar	1,050,000
Suki Hagane	1,000,000
Sarah Sugarcube	850,000

And here is a list of all the prizes that were won in the raffle:

Name	Prize won
Driess Raronek	Ballroom Etiquette - Personal Perfection
Driess Raronek	Where All Roads Lead Orchestrion Roll
L'ireiya Tia	Ballroom Etiquette - Personal Perfection
L'ireiya Tia	Celestial Screen
L'ireiya Tia	Punutiy Crossing Orchestrion Roll
L'ireiya Tia	Stargazers Orchestrion Roll
Nekomi Hounami	Axolotl Eft
Niners Dawnheart	Antelope Stag Horn
Niners Dawnheart	Barding Of Eternal Darkness
Niners Dawnheart	Hyperboreia Bench

Thank you everyone for a part of our FC and let’s look forward to our ninth anniversary!